It’s hard to believe now, but the Phoenix Suns actually considered trading Amar’e Stoudemire to the Cavaliers at this year’s trade deadline. With Phoenix having swept their way to the conference finals and Cleveland a game away from elimination in their series with the Celtics, hanging onto Stoudemire appears to have been a good short-term decision. The question now is whether Stoudemire will sign an extension with Phoenix this summer.

Stoudemire has been coy about his summer plans all year, and he’s not changing that now. On Tuesday, Stoudemire said he’s “Still not sure about what he’s going to do next summer,” and that his decision is “Still 50-50. It’s not for certain if I stay or if I go.”

Stoudemire has certainly made himself a lot of money this postseason. Amar’e has always been one of the most explosive big men the game has ever seen going to the basket; after a successful return from microfracture surgery, Stoudemire expanded his game, adding a very good pick-and-pop jumper and cleaning up his free throw stroke. In these playoffs, he’s even shown that he can play some defense, which has always been the biggest knock on Amar’e. If Phoenix doesn’t want to pay Amar’e big money this season, another team likely will.

It’s hard to know what the best situation for Amar’e will be going forward. Steve Nash has always been the perfect pick-and-roll partner for Stoudemire, but he’s certainly not getting any younger. (Although I will not discount the possibility that Nash is impervious to the effects of age and having an eye bashed in.) The possibility of going to Miami and finally giving Dwayne Wade a worthy running mate is certainly an enticing one. Derrick Rose and a Noah/Stoudemire frontcourt could work fairly well in Chicago. How about a Brook Lopez/Amar’e frontcourt in Brooklyn? How about Amar’e and LeBron running the pick-and-roll in New York? There are so many possibilities. We’ll see which one of them ends up happening.